Foaming dispensers are becoming popular for various consumer product applications. As examples, foaming personal care dishwashing, hard surface cleaning, skincare, shaving, haircare and haircolorant compositions are increasingly prevalent in commercial markets. During cleaning, especially dishwashing, and more especially manual dishwashing, voluminous foam is viewed as a direct indicator of the proper dishwashing composition concentration and/or water dilution factor. In a consumer cleaning product, consumers also view suds as an indication of how well the composition is cleaning and/or removing oil and soils. It is a natural habit for a person washing dishes to add more dishwashing composition when the foam level or volume decreases, as the cleaning performance is viewed as directly correlated to the foam level; as the foam level decreases, the cleaning performance is perceived as decreasing.
Additionally, it is common for consumers to develop the habit of inverting, partially or completely, the bottle containing a foaming composition as they dispense the product onto any surface, a cleaning implement (i.e. sponge), into the wash basin, directly on their skin or on their hair. Contrary to this habit, many foaming dispensers are limited to proper operation only when positioned up-right; such is the case for many pump-type dispensers. In cases where dispensers are designed for inverted dispensing, it has been found that providing a uniform foaming profile over a usage cycle has not been sufficiently achieved. Specifically, it is often the case that the foam weight to foam volume ratio decreases as the level of product in the container is depleted.
Containers and specifically dispensing containers for forming foam are well known in the trigger-sprayer and aerosol arts, the toilet bowl cleaning art, the shaving foam art, and the hand and body washing arts. Such dispensers typically contain a gas injection mechanism such as an air-injection piston, a propellant gas, and a foam-generating aperture. A pressurized gas is turbulently combined with a liquid as it exits the container By employing this turbulent mixing and/or foam-generating aperture, a foam is created. In addition, while foam-generating dispensers are also known for cleaning purposes such as car washing, and industrial cleaning, such foam-generating dispensers typically yield a foam degraded in texture and/or performance due to a tortuous foam delivery path.
Accordingly, the need exists for a foam dispenser which provides a uniform foam which is not degraded by a tortuous foam delivery path.
The figures herein are not necessarily drawn to scale.